Marta Kostyuk dedicates maiden title to people ‘fighting and dying’ in Ukraine

Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk dedicated her first WTA Tour title to “all the people who are fighting and dying” after beating Russia’s Varvara Gracheva at the ATX Open. Competing in her maiden final the 20-year-old, ranked 40, secured a 6-3, 7-5 victory in Austin, Texas.

During the presentation ceremony Kostyuk said: “Being in the position that I’m in right now, it’s extremely special to win this title. I want to dedicate this title to Ukraine and to all the people who are fighting and dying.”

Kostyuk has been the most outspoken player about the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian players to continue playing on tour after the invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian has frequently criticised players from the two aggressor countries for not condemning the war and there was no handshake between Kostyuk and Gracheva at the end of the match.

At the WTA tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, Donna Vekic secured her fourth title with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory over the top seed Caroline Garcia. The Croatian was ranked outside the top 100 a year ago after knee surgery but has enjoyed an excellent past six months, including reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, and is back up to 23 in the standings.